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Thursday, 18 June 2015

Moving and Packing Hacks To Make Your Life Easier

One word.

Moving.

I only moved out two years ago to pursue college and my dreams of living in the city, but you'd be surprised how many things I had acquired in those two years. I have an ungodly amount of kitchen utensils and baking trays and don't get me started on the amount of books I've adopted. The biggest thing that I bought was my beloved rocking chair. At £5 and the chance to score something off my bucket list, I couldn't resist. Doesn't sound too complicated yet, does it?
The thing is, only my grandparents are capable people of driving and they're not able to help me move. I usually fill a suitcase or two, jump on a two hour long bus and go home if I'm taking stuff to and fro. It works well and I already have most of my stuff moved out early and back home so that I can get it all sorted. Problem is, a rocking chair doesn't fit in a suitcase and I very much doubt the bus driver would let me stick it in the luggage compartment.

I started to panic. I didn't have a car or any friends who could drive. Hiring a van would cost a fortune and a long taxi ride would be even worse. I started calling around to see if anyone knew someone that had a big enough car. Luckily a friend of the family was available and has agreed to help me but the fear was real and kept me up at night. Being stuck in a city with only a bus as your main mode of transport is scary, especially when you're moving out. I really had to be careful when packing certain items because the journey was rocky.

Therefore, in-case you're a student with no extra help, or simply want to work with what you've got when moving, here are a few things that I discovered when packing:

- If you have electronics you want to keep safe or any breakables, don't buy bubble wrap and waste money, just wrap these items up with items of your own clothing. It's a win-win situation and your breakables are protected! Also you can use your socks for putting items inside like ornaments or cables.

- Same goes for plates! You can use items of clothing or even plastic bags. Put a plate in a jumper or a plastic bag and voilà! Your plate will be protected from other plates and other items in your suitcase.

- Don't have anyone who can drive you? Have a look on gumtree. There are many 'man with van' services who all provide quotes. They're a lot cheaper than regular moving vans and they will take you as far or as near as you need. Make sure that you trust whoever you choose and ensure to practice stranger danger.

- Label your boxes on the sides so that you know what you're unpacking! It can be easy to make the mistake of writing on the top of the box and then piling boxes on top of each other.

- Donate! Moving is the perfect time to have a clear out and decide what you do and don't need. Be strict with yourself and remember that the more you donate, the less you move with you.

- Plan ahead! If you can, start moving stuff you don't use earlier than the rest. Start moving your winter jumpers and non essential items weeks before everything else. You'll find you have more time and you'll be less stressed!

- Use every nook and cranny that you can! Packing shoes? Put some items inside of your shoes to secure them and use the extra space!

- Secure those lids! Whether it be a cute little storage tin, shampoo or a box of cookie cutters, stick a bit cello tape over the tip to secure it to its container. It saves on mess and is a simple little trick.

That's all from me just now about packing! Just take your time, remember to breathe and don't be scared to ask for help.

What did you think of these packing hacks? Have you tried any of these before? What are your hacks? Leave them in the comments down below and don't forget to share with your friends!

Hi lovely, moving into my current place - where I live now - was the biggest pain in the bumhole ever! I seriously nearly had a breakdown. Our place is on the 5th floor in a block of flat next to a busy taxi rank (it literately right opposite us, we step outside and we be right in the taxi rank), next to a train station and on a busy town city road. Oh my god it was a nightmare to get the moving van to park near it to move the furniture, I had to write to the council before moving day to ask to park our van close enough to our block of flat, luckily they agreed and gave me a permit. But we had to walk 5 mins holding all our stuff down a street to get to the front door of our block of flat. Once we got inside we started to loads all our stuff into the lift and another resident starting going mental at us, saying we had no right to hog the lift, how dare we. I got into the lift and left my husband to sort it out as I was close to tears at that point. We got all our stuff in - took about 3 hours. But NEVER EVER again! I was scared to drop any of my things in case it get stolen so i was constantly watching all my things and watching everything round me. There was another nightmare with our furniture delivery we ordered online but that another story for another time. xx

That sounds like a nightmare! I can only imagine how stressful that was! I know what you mean about the lift, I moved out from the 13th floor.. And I think only one lift was working. People loved me haha! I bet it's put you off moving for a while!

It has (put me off moving!) but also I kinda cannot wait to move again, I don't really like the actual building where all the flats are. It smells of garbage due to the summer heat, we had people vandalize properties and I want a place where I can actually keep a pet.